Culinary classroom kitchens await further funding

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News Eagle - Hawley, PA

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Posted Feb. 4, 2013 at 3:45 PM

Posted Feb. 4, 2013 at 3:45 PM

Hawley, Pa.

By Katie Collins News Eagle Reporter

Lackawanna College is in the midst of constructing a new culinary facility at its Lake Region location in the Hawley Silk Mill. As of December, the construction of the President’s Dining Room was finished, but there is still a considerable amount of work that needs to be done.

Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, Chris Kucharski, explained that more funding needs to be secured before the college can move onto the next phase. With no timeline in place, Kucharski said the college hopes it all comes together soon.

With an estimated cost of $2 million, Kucharski said the college in not ready to announce how much funding has been secured. He explained that the school is "kind of developing the campaign and building towards our goals." Unsure of when the facility will be completed, jokingly Kucharski said, "we’d like it done yesterday, but there’s no date set."

The Tuesday and Thursday classes that would take place in the Lake Region facility are taking place at the Scranton campus for the time being. By students having to go to the Scranton campus, Kucharski said students’ educational process is not being disrupted.

Through collaborations with local businesses like Woodloch Pines and Settlers Inn, Kucharski said working with the businesses has been a major reason why the school has been successful. The professionals at the businesses have provided feedback for the college’s program, while also being models for the students. Through the school, Kucharski said, students are being trained to one-day work at the local businesses. As a two-year college, a lot of the students are able to go right into the workforce because of the training they have received.

With things like the funding and the advising of students, Kucharski said the community’s support has been outstanding. Because of the support, he said the college is excited about the future because of how well everything has gone thus far.

Financially, he said, the community has also helped out, but with a need of $2 million being a "very lofty number," now the college is looking for help from "various entities." Kucharski expressed how grateful the school is for the community’s backing because from the time the college moved into the Silk Mill, the community has been great. But he noted, that "we have some work to do, but we understand that, we’re excited about the project and we’re excited to move forward."